American Red Cross
Central Coast Chapter
Eighth Ave. at Dolores St.
Carmel, CA 93921
redcross.org/centralcoast

Media Contact: Kathryn Hecht
707.291.9601
kathryn.hecht@redcross.org

Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action presented for their heroic efforts

CARMEL, Calif. — For heroic actions that resulted in two lives saved, two local residents were honored with American Red Cross commendations on Tuesday, March 16, in a virtual ceremony hosted by the organization's Central Coast Chapter.

Linda Chavez (Santa Cruz County) and Robert Hernandez (Monterey County) received awards for the "extraordinary action" each took to save the life of a person choking.

“The Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action is given to individuals who step up in an emergency situation and help save or sustain a life,” said Michele Averill, Executive Director of the American Red Cross Central Coast Chapter. “These two individuals exemplify the mission of the Red Cross to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies and are to be commended for their willingness to help others in distress.”

On July 13, 2019, Linda Chavez helped to save the life of a man who began to choke at the Sobering Center in Santa Cruz, California. The man was brought to the center for admission. Linda, the EMT on shift, noticed the patient losing consciousness and experiencing troubled breathing. Linda performed abdominal thrusts, and the patient began to breathe again normally.

On September 26, 2020, Robert Hernandez stepped in to save the life of a female coworker who started to choke at the Sunrise Villa Salinas Retirement Community in Salinas, California. Robert’s coworker ate a piece of bread that lodged in her throat. She started to turn blue, grabbed her throat and struggled to breathe. Robert jumped in to administer abdominal thrusts – eventually, she coughed up the bread and began to breathe normally.

Get Trained

Red Cross training gives people the knowledge and skills to act in an emergency and save a life. A variety of online, blended (online and in-person skills session) and classroom courses are available at redcross.org/takeaclass.

Nominate Someone

People can go to LifesavingAwards.org to nominate and recognize an individual or group of individuals who have used the skills and knowledge learned in an American Red Cross Training Services course to help save or sustain a life.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.